Xbox 360 Console Discussion

[Wesley]

You're complaining the vistas in the post-nuke world is drab to look at... damn.

[spirited away]

You're complaining the vistas in the post-nuke world is drab to look at... damn.

 

Ha, obviously you'd expect that in the context, but it doesn't change the fact that for me it's uninspiring and monontonous. At least Oblviion was a treat to look at, at the time. I guess that's a personal preference though.

 

Another gripe for me were the underground sections of the game, which I thought were arduous. I can understand why people afford such praise to the game though - it just didn't click with me.

[jayseven]

I think a lot of the underground stuff is indeed monotonous, but I hit most of them up when I was going explorer-crazy so I was almost glad whenever I found a new station as it meant I'd be unlocking a couple of new areas.

 

I can appreciate you not liking the views in teh game. Again, however, my quest for discovering new places meant I was rather vigilant when traisping about, always with an eye on the compass, heading to a new destination sideways, scanning the horizon for trinkets. Not to make too much of a mountain here, but you have Mass Effect 2 in your sig, so I presume the repetitive planet exploration, too, got you by the short hairs?

 

It's a shame you were affected by the hype. I avoided pretty much all promotion, and ended up gladly investing near enough 80 hours of my life.

[Dyson]

I think a lot of the underground stuff is indeed monotonous, but I hit most of them up when I was going explorer-crazy so I was almost glad whenever I found a new station as it meant I'd be unlocking a couple of new areas.

 

I can appreciate you not liking the views in teh game. Again, however, my quest for discovering new places meant I was rather vigilant when traisping about, always with an eye on the compass, heading to a new destination sideways, scanning the horizon for trinkets. Not to make too much of a mountain here, but you have Mass Effect 2 in your sig, so I presume the repetitive planet exploration, too, got you by the short hairs?

 

It's a shame you were affected by the hype. I avoided pretty much all promotion, and ended up gladly investing near enough 80 hours of my life.

 

Essentially I'm the same as jayseven. Only recently I've started to tire of the underground and broken interior style buildings, but I still love exploring the Wasteland. Empty triangles appearing on my radar usually get my attention when on my way to a quest, because there's always effort put in to the stations, power stations, garages etc. Sometimes there'd be family transcripts providing a mini story of whatever happened to the location, sometimes there'd be a random guy inside making a living...somehow etc. Every place had character.

 

It's interesting you mention Mass Effect as that's why I was put off the planet exploration; the lack of anything on any of the random planets

[Gizmo]

I never really got into Fallout 3. Combat for me wasn't that fun, and the exploration, while I can see the appeal, didn't excite me much. Always intended on going back to it at some point but never have as yet.

[ThePigMarcher]

In the same boat as a couple of others with Fallout 3. Really loved it at first and put plenty of time into it and then got sidetracked by a couple of other games (LKS being one).

 

Keep intending to go back as I still have a fair bit to do but for some reason I still haven't been able to bring myself to get involved again. Having the same problem with Oblivion and Mass Effect , perhaps I just need to reboot either and then I will hopefully get involved again.

 

At the moment I seem to be completely involved with NHL '09. I really didn't like it at first because I had a lot of trouble with the controls , principally the skill stick because the last NHL game I played before that was the '05 version on the Cube.

 

Still suck pretty badly but I have now gone completely mad for the Be A Pro mode (tried Goalie mode for the first time last night , completely awesome even if I caused my AHL team to lose their opening 3 games :p). I only wish I had discovered/enjoyed it earlier , whilst the EASHL was still active and relatively free from glitchers.

[Shorty]

It's interesting you mention Mass Effect as that's why I was put off the planet exploration; the lack of anything on any of the random planets

Some of the planets had small bases and buildings, but yeah mostly they were very dull. I can understand a galaxy having a lot of basic rock planets but it would've been nice to land on a few greener places, maybe with running water or old ruins, anything but what felt like randomly generated rocky landscapes. Hopefully they'll put more effort into these landscapes in ME2, and also let us visit Earth!

 

The only more dynamic planets in ME were the ones for the main missions, and ironically those were the more restrictive, linear areas.

[spirited away]

I think a lot of the underground stuff is indeed monotonous, but I hit most of them up when I was going explorer-crazy so I was almost glad whenever I found a new station as it meant I'd be unlocking a couple of new areas.

 

I can appreciate you not liking the views in teh game. Again, however, my quest for discovering new places meant I was rather vigilant when traisping about, always with an eye on the compass, heading to a new destination sideways, scanning the horizon for trinkets. Not to make too much of a mountain here, but you have Mass Effect 2 in your sig, so I presume the repetitive planet exploration, too, got you by the short hairs?

 

It's a shame you were affected by the hype. I avoided pretty much all promotion, and ended up gladly investing near enough 80 hours of my life.

 

I didn't even bother with planet exploration bar the main story. Thinking about it I don't generally bother with it in any adventure/rpg games unless the game visually excites me, ala Assasins Creed.

[jayseven]

With Mass Effect I'd given it a couple of attempts before, so on a third try I really got into it - went to every planet, got way too many ore deposits and so on. With Fallout 3 I had to stop at one point, and I went back to it two months later and was just utterly confused, lost, and distant from teh game. Instead of starting again i just lowered the difficulty :P

[Dyson]

My Gold sub has run out. Balls! And with no income gonna find it hard to get the money together for a new years sub. So if anyone has any 1 month cards or otherwise floating around (particularly those from GTA4) I'd love it if you could send them my way if possible. Much love for anyone that can help me out.

 

Also, what is there to look forward to in the 360s future? I'm expecting some AAA games to be announced for the 360 at E3, because right now there's next to nothing on the horizon that interests me.

[Ganepark32]

^ I know I have at least 1 spare 1 month Xbox Live Gold card somewhere in my room. I'll look for it tomorrow and PM you when i find it. I think there are two so if needs be then you can have both seeing as my Live is connected to my mother's bank card so I don't need them.

 

And yeh, if you think about what AAA titles are to come for the 360 this year and after, there aren't many. I mean perhaps Epic will step up with the 3rd Gears titles at some point but that probably won't be until next year at the earliest. Obviously, Rare are working on stuff but whether that could be considered AAA going off of their previous work on the 360 is not know. I think probably the only big AAA titles are Alan Wake, Forza 3 and Splinter Cell: Conviction. There's also the Peter Jackson Halo Chronicles game and I think it's about time that showed up. Other than that though, there's not a huge amount so hopefully they'll announce a decent amount at E3.

[Dyson]

That'd be fantastic; cheers Ganepark.

 

I just can't see anything I'm truly excited about. Last year there was Fable 2, Fallout 3, Rock Band 2 and loads more to look forward to at the end of the year but I'm thinking it's just going to be quite quiet this year. No huge announces or rumours have been made; but I guess we'll find out more at E3. Bring it on. I'm holding out for MGS4 on the 360 personally, I still believe it'll happen, and that's a game I'm really looking forward to.

 

How odd, was just about to reply when both Mass Effect 2 and Assassins Creed 2 popped in to my head. Not that I'm hugely excited about either of them - ME1 was buggy but enjoyable, and I never played AC1, but they're both big games that I'm sure will end up coming out Q3/4 this year.

[Mundi]

I was thinking the same last year Pre-E3 Dyson, it changed a bit after that.

But looking at the releases of 07 and 08 I would not be surprised if things slowed down a bit.

[Dyson]

It would be to be expected I suppose, there've been some big games released in the past couple of years, the system selling titles. I'm talking Halo 3, GTA 4, Fallout 3 - huge titles that cause system sales. I'm not expecting anything like that this year.

[Mundi]

Yeah all the expected majorly hyped (sequel) games are out.

This year will be all about Prototype, Batman, Brutal Legend and Dragon Age for me.

Hopefully Alan Wake get´s out of the development hell, those good looking screens and video of it we got 2 years ago is a bit too little to cling against.

[dwarf]

Maybe the industry is pumping out games more often? I'm really looking forward to this year and no doubt there'll be a game or three that releases on 360 that I'd really like to own on PS3. I think if you don't have a PS3, Uncharted 2 is going to be one of the biggest games that releases for the console this year and could possibly convince a few of you to get one.

I don't think the year will be weak for either console purely because there have been games that have disappeared for a while now that possibly have been rejuvinated since releasing within 6 months of launch.

[Dante]

Kikizo interview with Team Ninja Boss Yosuke Hayashi on new leader of Team Ninja, on Itagaki, Sigma 2, the Koei Tecmo merger and Ninja Gaiden 3.

 

Kikizo: In Ninja Gaiden II the AI sometimes had an issue dealing with just the one player, so it must be a challenge for you to make enemies work perfectly in co-op play?

 

Hayashi: That point has been brought up before internally at Team Ninja as well. We actually worked very hard on the AI for Sigma 2; in terms of fine-tuning it, the engine used for Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 is quite an upgrade from Ninja Gaiden II, and in bringing the online co-operative mode into play, obviously we have taken into account a lot of the flaws that were seen in Ninja Gaiden II - a lot of manpower and research has gone into fixing a lot of the problems. So we do touch on the AI, and how we have been able to bring it to the level where it's not going to be a flaw within the game anymore.

 

 

Kikizo: Are you considering the possibility of bringing Sigma 2 back to Xbox 360 as a sort of Ninja Gaiden Black type release, or as downloadable content, so that Xbox fans get the new content too?

 

Hayashi: I am sorry for our Xbox 360 fans, but this one will be PS3 only. As much as I would like to take that as sort of a compliment, saying that we should share the wealth with other consoles, I think it's more or less too old by the time Sigma 2 hits the market and enough people have played it already on the Xbox 360. The total audience of Ninja Gaiden fans and actions gamers will probably just be wanting more, so at that point, we have to open up a new chapter, not just repackage all the updates for the other audience and calling it Black. At that point we're going to have to push ourselves to the next level, and we are better off giving both audiences an entirely new game - I think our time and energy will be better used that way.

 

Kikizo: Itagaki-san had previously said that Ninja Gaiden II would be the final game in the series. Do you think you will go back on that and make a Ninja Gaiden 3 and beyond?

 

Hayashi: Regardless of what Itagaki-san said before, in time, what the consumers, the gamers are looking for is going to be the next chapter - the future of an outstanding series. We feel that we're in a position of being able to make that call, and to provide pure entertainment that's going to be enjoyed by action gamers and our fans. That calling is already there - we feel it, and therefore we will continue to work towards a future for the series.

Edited May 15, 2009 by Dante

[Aimless]

Can't say I'm interested in this game at all, but those who are may want to pre-order Star Ocean: The Last Hope from zavvi for £17.95. At the very least you should be able to trade in it for more than you paid for it.

[Babooo]

Can't say I'm interested in this game at all, but those who are may want to pre-order Star Ocean: The Last Hope from zavvi for £17.95. At the very least you should be able to trade in it for more than you paid for it.

 

What the hell?! That is ridiculous! Might have to buy one and ebay it off! haha

 

EDIT: Just purchased a copy! hehe

Edited May 17, 2009 by Babooo

[spirited away]

Cheers Aimless. Crazy price.

[Tales]

Thanks for the tip. I pre ordered it for 50 punds a few days ago^^'

[Hero-of-Time]

Here's this weeks Bonus Round which focuses on Microsofts E3 showings.

 

http://www.gametrailers.com/episode/bonusround/304?ch=2&sd=1

[dwarf]

Even though some of the conversation in that video was kind of babyish (Microsoft need to win... No they don't, most people don't even know what E3 is) it is an interesting watch. Seeing a collective nerdy bunch of people communicate about games is weirdly intriguing.

[Hero-of-Time]

Even though some of the conversation in that video was kind of babyish (Microsoft need to win... No they don't, most people don't even know what E3 is) it is an interesting watch. Seeing a collective nerdy bunch of people communicate about games is weirdly intriguing.

 

What do you think we do on here everyday?

[Ganepark32]

It was certainly an interesting watch but they seemed to focus a lot on Microsoft and it's announcement of wanting to change home entertainment. Very little in the way of game related chat but I think it's rather indicative, perhaps a foreshadowing, of what Microsoft's E3 conference is going to be like. I think while there will be games there, games being announced, I see them being overlooked, like in this GT feature, for the possible reveal of the motion control/camera and their shake up/evolution of home entertainment.

 

I think one thing Crecente said about Sony being Microsoft's big rival at E3 and not Nintendo was both right and wrong. I think Sony are the big rival because there's not a lot of talk about what Sony are going to be doing at the show and what there is is focusing on the games and their continued development of the PS3 and it's features, such as Home, etc. But I think he was slightly off balance in relation to Nintendo. While I don't think there will be the big Zelda/Mario announcements people are hoping for, I think there will be ample big announcements that would make Nintendo a big contender for 'winner of E3'. But it's not really that big a deal/competition so I don't understand why GT were putting so much into it.

 

N'Gai's comment of getting Miyamoto for Microsoft was an interesting thing. It's not something that I've heard mentioned before but it would be interesting to see how he'd work with them in comparison with Nintendo as I don't think he'd have the freedom he has at Nintendo. You know, obviously it's not going to happen but it would make for an interesting topic/discussion on here.